Victorious Says Drink

Lest you think it's all WAAAH! WAAAH! WAAAH! around here, I would like to point out that it is possible that a wee bit of fun was had at the Big Time Rush concert.

It turns out that when I'm thrown a photography challenge, I take it very seriously. You want to wave your arms around like a chimpanzee swinging from tree to tree? FINE. I'll just take an extra 100 photos or so.

Some of those photos will be taken just so I can later look at them and say, "Manpris? REALLY?" because REALLY? WHY?

Friends don't let friends wear manpris.

And now we know who the outcasts are in that band.

ANYWAY.

There is one other little thing that entertained me greatly. The idea for it came via my friend Gina. It turns out that Victoria Justice, Big Time Rush's opening act, has exactly one dance move. It's this one.

Welcome to the Victoria Justice Drinking Game, kids. Every time she flips her arm up over her head or otherwise touches her hair, DRINK!

Warning: This is going to get ugly fast.

REALLY fast.

Apparently she does this during her television show as well, so good luck, friends. Go watch TV with your kids. You now can turn the show into an adult festivity.

DRINK!

* No actual alcohol was consumed at the concert, BUT I REGRET THAT NOW. Ahem.

I Have a Big Time Question

I leaned over and yelled into Alexis' ear, "Put your sign down."

"What?" she mouthed back to me, her voice lost in the sea of bass beats, harmonized voices, and little girl screams.

"Put your sign down. The people behind you can't see," I repeated.

Alexis was mad. MAD. At me. She was having fun and she wanted to blast her love for Carlos as loud as possible. When you're seven and in the middle of a sea of people, a bright neon sign is a great way to be heard.

But.

The people behind us couldn't see through the sign. I'm all for fun, but not if it ruins the fun for others.

Apparently I stand on a lonely island with my thoughts on this.

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This past weekend, Project Spoil The Alexis continued. There was the water balloon fight and cheerleading camp and there was a little something I arranged months and months ago.

Giant Eagle started something last year and that something was a total and complete devotion to all things Big Time Rush. Alexis is head over heals in love with their music, TV show, and everything in between. It was a no-brainer that I would buy tickets and take her to the show again this year. It was an even bigger no-brainer that I would buy good tickets. I wanted her to be able to see the stage and enjoy everything about the concert.

She wasn't able to see a damn thing. I paid for her to get to stare at a bunch of grown women's butts.

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Big Time Rush is very clearly geared towards the pre-tween crowd. Everything about the show and the music screams HEY, KID! LIKE US! The only thing that could make them more Alexis-centric is if they walked around throwing glitter in the air.

Streamers don't count.

Although, the streamers are working for somebody, and that somebody is a heck of a lot of grown women. I don't remember last year's concert being the same way, but this year's was easily half grown-ups. The row in front of us was solid grown-ups. Not a single pre-tween. I must have missed the memo, but apparently Big Time Rush has become the Go To Band for cougars and their spouses.

First, WTH?

Second, OK, fine. You go you with the crush on the boy who is 20 years younger than you. Whatever makes you happy is totally cool. Seriously.

BUT WHY WERE YOU STANDING UP AND WAVING YOUR ARMS AND BEING COMPLETELY OBNOXIOUS THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE CONCERT?

I might be alone on my island, but on my happy little island, fun can be had just as long as it doesn't interfere with the fun of others around me.

I'm 5' 8" tall and my fun was dampened. *I* couldn't see, nor could I figure out a way to help Alexis see.

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On my island, nobody would ever dare to complain that others are having too much fun. I mean, I complained. A LOT. But, I didn't walk down the aisle to get a security guard.

"These women are talking about us and taking pictures of us to post on Facebook. If we want to stand up we can. I don't give a crap if their brats can see," the woman in the bright neon Big Time Rush t-shirt yelled to the security guard in the yellow shirt.

He followed her back to her seat and did whatever he could to calm the storm. The end result, from a distance, appeared to be that the group with kids left. I suppose they went to sit somewhere else, but man. MAN. They spent $50 per person for the privilege to sit in those seats and then didn't get to use them.

I don't know. I'm torn. It's not cool to talk about people and try to shame them on social media. Whether it's anonymous or passive-aggressive or whatever, it's a jerk move. But it's also a jerk move to be all "I'm having fun and screw you if that ruins your fun."

By the way, PUT YOUR DAMN ARMS DOWN. Don't you need to scratch your nose or something? Just for a second? PLEASE?

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Out of the 300 or so photos that I took during the concert, there were arms blocking the view in 112 of them. No joke. I counted, because I have issues like that.

For what it's worth, we were in the pavilion near the front of the top section. There wasn't a single person standing up in front of the people who blocked our view. They weren't standing up and waving their arms out of necessity, but rather because they wanted to.

I am seriously about 60/40 on the whole thing. Go, you! Have fun!

But does that fun really have to cause everyone around you to not have fun?

What do you think? Is it a jerk move to stand up and block the view with your body and/or signs when you're at a concert that is clearly geared towards kids?

I'm seriously asking.

(Big shout out to Post Gazette Pavilion or Starlake or whatever it's called for CLEARLY not slanting the pavilion enough. People who are 5' 8" should have no trouble seeing.)

Let Your Smile Change the World

It was another one of those weekends when ALL OF THE THINGS were happening at once. We missed out on some of the things, but full on attacked others.

And when I say "attacked," I mean Alexis beat the tar out of a giant piñata.

If you're wondering how much Alexis enjoyed throwing balls at a piñata's head, I think this tells the story.

The piñata came out to play at the Great American Water Balloon Fight, a charity event that raises money to support Haitians in need. It's run by the fine folks at Team Tassy.

I missed the event last year, so I have nothing to compare it to, but OMG. GO. NEXT YEAR. DO IT. I knew I would have Alexis with me, so I didn't participate in the actual fight. Instead, I bought a bucket of water balloons and let her throw them from the sidelines. It was a totally legal move, and it meant that she was free to throw, but wouldn't be pelted by a grown-up on a quest for damage.

That's how Alexis spent a solid half hour. She threw all of the balloons from our bucket and chased down any that slipped past the perimeter. She threw water balloon after water balloon.

And it was pretty much one of her most favorite things ever.

Obviously. It's understandable, though. I mean, LOOK.

If giant babies and zombies can have fun, anyone can.

(ScareHouse was a sponsor. Obviously.)

(There's a story to go with that photo, but that's for another day.)

More photos of the event are here.

You have to love that Pittsburghers take the idea of letting smiles change the world very seriously.